Wall board securing cleat



Aug. 26, 1958 e. R. CHlSHOLM WALL BOARD SECURING CLEAT Filed March 15,1955 a212, CiziskoZm INVENTOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,848,758Fatented Aug. 26, 1958 WALL BOARD SECURING CLEAT Gordon R. Chisholm, St.Louis, Mo. Application March 15, 1955, Serial No. 494,500

2 Claims. (Cl. 20-4) This invention relates to cleats used in buildingconstruction for securing composition wall boards commonly used in theconstruction of room or closet walls, at the corners and edges of suchrooms or closets, for the purpose of providing means to which such wallboards may be nailed, for securing them in place.

An important object of the invention is to provide means in the form ofa cleat which is so constructed that nails used in nailing or securingwall board sections in position, may be driven into such cleats andgripped by the cleats, effectively securing the wall boards in position.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully describedand pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may bemade in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit of the invention as claimed.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cleat, constructed in accordancewith the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through wall board sectionssecured in position by means of cleats forming the subject matter of thepresent invention.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a cleat illustrating a nailas gripped thereby.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing in detail the cleat comprises a body portion 5stamped from a length of sheet metal material and provided with flanges6 disposed along the longitudinal side edges of the body portion.Separated from the body portion 5 is a tongue 7 which is bent laterallyand extended at right angles with respect to the body portion 5, thefree end of the tongue 7 being extended in parallel relation with thebody 5, as at 8. The extended free end 8 of the tongue 7 is formed withpiercing points 9 that are adapted to be driven into studding or a beamsuch as indicated at 10, for holding the cleat in position.

An opening 11 is formed in the tongue 7 and is designed to receive asecuring nail or screw used in further securing the cleat in position.

Formed in the body portion 5 at a point beyond the tongue 7 is a slot 12disposed longitudinally of the body portion 5. The side edges of theslot 12 are pressed inwardly a distance to provide a space therebetweenwhich is slightly less than the diameter of a nail such as indicated at13, so that when the nail is driven into the slot 12, the edges of theslot will grip the nail in such a way as to hold the nail againstaccidental displacement.

Thus it will be seen that due to this construction, a length of wallboard material such as indicated at 14 may be securely fastened to thecleat, by merely driving a nail through the wall board and into the slot12, thereby securely fastening the wall board without the necessity ofproviding a securing beam or the like at the rear of the wall board toreceive such securing nails.

In the use of the cleat, the cleat is positioned at one end of astudding or beam such as indicated at 10 and shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawing. The piercing points 9 are driven into the beam and the bodyportion 5 of the cleat is thereby held in a position to receive a wallboard section such as shown at 14. The wall board section is fittedagainst the front surface of the body portion 5 of the cleat and a nail13 driven through the wall board section and into the slot 12, whereinthe side edges of the slot grip the nail and hold the nail againstaccidental displacement. It will, of course, be understood that prior tothe positioning of the Wall board section 14 a securing nail 15 isdriven through the opening 11 of the tongue 7 and is embedded in the endof the studding or beam 10. The wall board section 16 is now positionedagainst the end of the studding or beam 10 and overlies the tongue 7 ofthe cleat, where it is secured by the nail 17.

By using a number of cleats as described, it will be seen that the wallof a room or closet may be securely positioned and held by the cleats,eliminating the necessity of supplying beams as a part of the buildingstructure to receive the nails, which is not only a complicatedprocedure, but is one that cannot be readily carried out in small orrestricted areas.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a cleat for securing wall boardstogether along the adjacent edges com prising an elongated body portion,a tongue extending laterally from said body portion, a pair of beampiercing points extending angularly from said tongue, said tongue havingan opening adapted to receive a securing nail, and said body having aslot extending lengthwise thereof and disposed above said tongue, theedges of said sl'ot adapted to bite into a securing nail driven into theslot for holding a board and last mentioned nail against accidentaldisplacement.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a cleat for securing wall boardstogether along their adjacent edges comprising a body portion formed ofa length of sheet metal material, the longitudinal side edges of saidbody portion being extended laterally providing flanges, a tonguestamped from said body portion extended laterally from the body portionadapted to fit over a supporting beam, said tongue having an openingthrough which a securing nail is adapted to be extended, said bodyportion having an elongated slot extending lengthwise of said bodyportion, said cleat providing a wall board rest, the side edges of saidslot adapted to bite into a securing nail driven into the slot forholding a board and nail against accidental displacement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,625,637 Abel Apr. 19, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 146,282 Australia May 1,1952

